NEWS: Making broadband affordable for low-income families

PETALING JAYA: Low-income families across the country can now access the Internet via broadband, without putting a hole in their pockets.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and the Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Ministry have launched a broadband-and-netbook package for these households.

Called the TM Broadband Package with 1Malaysia Computer, the scheme offers a mini computer and access to the Internet at speeds of up to 384Kbps (kilobits per second) for just RM38 a month. The users must sign up for a minimum two-year subscription.

Typically, broadband access is priced between RM90 and RM140 monthly, albeit for the much higher broadband speeds of between 512Kbps and 4Mbps (megabits per second). These packages require users to take up a minimum one-year subscription.

To sweeten the deal for low-income families, TM is allowing them to continue paying the same low rate for broadband for as long as they like, even after the two-year contract expires.

They can also opt for higher speeds now with an incremental fee of RM15 per month for each step up. The step ups are 384Kbps to 512Kbps to 1Mbps to 2Mbps and to 4Mbps max.

The special deal is open to rural households that have a total monthly income of RM3,000 and below, and to urban households that earn a total of RM5,000 or less a month.

TM is targeting villages with populations of less than 10,000 with the package. These include Federal Land Development Authority and orang asli settlements and plantations.

Subscribers have a choice of notebooks - the 1Malaysia Computer notebook, produced by TM in collaboration with local IT company Nadi Ayu Sdn Bhd. Or a Hewlett-Packard Co netbook, but this will cost an extra RM21 a month over two years.

The 1Malaysia machine has an Intel Atom 450 processor and 160-gigabyte hard disk while the HP has the same model chip and a 250GB hard disk.

Both have 1GB of memory, an integrated webcam and WiFi wireless access capability. The machines will be delivered for free to any part of the country.

Also, TM's usual broadband installation and activation fees of RM88 and RM75 respectively, will be waived for the low-income subscribers.

Some 1,500 subscriptions have already been taken up since the launch of the scheme on May 28, said TM.

This latest move by TM and the ministry is part of the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) which seeks to increase broadband penetration in the country,

The scheme for low-income households was launched by Minister of Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim at a ceremony in Jelebu (surf to bit.ly/aizOvS to see where this is), in Negeri Sembilan.